Method for terminal configuration over a radio control channel

ABSTRACT

An embodiment is a method for configuring a terminal (e.g., a radio) over a radio control channel. Instead of requiring on-site technicians to physically connect to the radios or error-prone and time consuming data calls to individual radios, an embodiment broadcasts software and configuration data as part of one or more radio control channel messages. As the radio control message or multiple messages are broadcast, any radio listening to the radio control message(s) may be configured. Additionally, radios of a particular type will be configured to use the same version of software and configuration data.

BACKGROUND

Modern wireless communication systems may operate both in analog anddigital modes in frequency ranges allocated according to the FederalCommunications Commissions (FCC). In particular, a digital wirelesscommunications system may operate according to Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards such as the 802.11 standardsfor Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) and the 802.16 standards forWireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs). Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a wireless broadband technology based onthe IEEE 802.16 standard of which IEEE 802.16-2004 and the 802.16eamendment are Physical (PHY) layer specifications.

Wireless communications systems, for example those operating to the IEEE802.11 and 802.16 standards, may share frequency ranges allocated by theFCC. Further, Land Mobile Radio may operate in another allocatedfrequency range. Further still, cellular telephones and other cellulardevices may operate according to any number of cellular telephone orcellular device standards.

SUMMARY

One embodiment may comprise a communications system comprising acommunications medium and one or more radios coupled to thecommunications medium. The radios may be arranged to receive from atransmitter over a broadcast channel a control channel message includingchunk data, the chunk data including at least a portion of software andconfiguration data for the radios. A determination may be made by eachradio whether the chunk data corresponds to its radio type.

One embodiment may comprise a communications system including an antennaand a transmitter coupled to the antenna. The transmitter may bearranged to broadcast a control channel message including chunk data,the chunk data including at least a portion of software or configurationdata.

One embodiment may comprise a technique for receiving, by a radio havinga radio type, a control channel message including chunk data, the chunkdata including at least a portion of software or configuration data forthe radio. The technique may determine, by the radio, whether the chunkdata corresponds to the radio type.

One embodiment may comprise an article comprising a machine-readablestorage medium containing instructions that if executed enable acommunications system to receive, by a radio coupled to thecommunications system, the radio having a radio type, a control channelmessage including chunk data, the chunk data including at least aportion of software and configuration data for the radio, and determine,by the radio, whether the chunk data corresponds to the radio type.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless system node.

FIG. 3 illustrates a mobile radio system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a control channel structure of an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a logic flow of an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Land mobile radio refers to a radio operating according to APCO,Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), or other similar landmobile radio standard. The APCO standards, for example, were establishedto address the need for common digital public safety radiocommunications standards for First Responders and HomelandSecurity/Emergency Response professionals (e.g., police, paramedic,fire, military, or any other state or federal emergency responseorganizations). In an embodiment, land mobile radio is allocatednumerous frequency ranges commonly within the 100-900 MHz range, thoughother frequency ranges may also be allocated.

A land mobile radio may contain software and other configuration data.In an embodiment, the software and configuration data may collectivelyrequire hundreds of kilobytes of memory or more. For example, softwareand configuration data may include program code or values for radiosoftware, radio configuration parameters, radio calibration, encryption,or any other soft information that may be used by the land mobile radio.Currently, updating or otherwise altering the software and configurationdata may require that the land mobile radio be connected to equipmentprovided by installation and maintenance providers via an assortment ofcables, adapters, or the like specific to the land mobile radiomanufacturer, model, and so on. Further, the land mobile radio may beindividually programmed with data call information. However, for eachapproach, the time, human, and equipment resources required to maintaina land mobile radio of an embodiment may substantially limit the easewith which multiple land mobile radios may be programmed and configured.

Various embodiments may be generally directed to techniques forprogramming and/or configuring multiple land mobile radios with abroadcast signal. In one embodiment, for example, a communicationssystem may comprise a communications medium and one or more radioscoupled to the communications medium. The radios may be arranged toreceive a control channel message including chunk data from atransmitter over a broadcast channel. The chunk data may include atleast a portion of software and configuration data for the radios. Eachradio may determine whether the chunk data corresponds to its radiotype. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

The method of an embodiment may provide a manner by which multiple landmobile radios may be programmed and configured with a broadcast signalsimultaneously. In particular, the land mobile radios may be programmedand configured with a control channel message or messages. In anembodiment, at least a control channel message may include informationrepresenting the software and configuration data introduced above. Morespecifically, in an embodiment individual control channel messages mayinclude at least a portion, or chunk, of the total information requiredfor the software and configuration data. The portions or chunks of thesoftware and configuration data may then be assembled or combined by theland mobile radios to recover the software and configuration data. Theland mobile radios may thereafter load, install, or otherwise implementthe received software and configuration data.

Embodiments of a method for terminal configuration over a radio controlchannel will be described. Reference will now be made in detail to adescription of these embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. Whilethe embodiments will be described in connection with these drawings,there is no intent to limit them to drawings disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, andequivalents within the spirit and scope of the described embodiments asdefined by the accompanying claims.

One embodiment is a method for configuring a terminal (e.g., a radio)over a radio control channel during normal operation. Instead ofrequiring on-site technicians to physically connect to the radios orerror-prone and time consuming data calls to individual radios, anembodiment broadcasts software and configuration data as part of one ormore radio control channel messages. More specifically, in an embodimentthe software and configuration data, depending on its total size, may bedivided into chunks that may each form part of a radio control channelmessage. Thereafter, the chunk or chunks contained in one or many radiocontrol channel messages respectively are broadcast to the radios on theradio system. Based on additional information contained within the radiocontrol message, any particular radio may determine if the software andconfiguration data is intended for a radio of its type. Depending onthat determination, the radio may accumulate chunks of data sufficientto reconstruct the software and configuration data. As the radio controlmessage or multiple messages (e.g., for multiple chunks and/or multipleradio types) are broadcast, any radio listening to the radio controlmessage(s) may be configured. Additionally, radios of a particular typewill be configured to use the same version of software and configurationdata.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system. FIG. 1 illustrates a blockdiagram of a communications system 100. In various embodiments, thecommunications system 100 may comprise multiple nodes. A node generallymay comprise any physical or logical entity for communicatinginformation in the communications system 100 and may be implemented ashardware, software, or any combination thereof, as desired for a givenset of design parameters or performance constraints. Although FIG. 1 mayshow a limited number of nodes by way of example, it can be appreciatedthat more or less nodes may be employed for a given implementation.

In various embodiments, a node may comprise, or be implemented as, aprogrammable device such as a computer system, a computer sub-system, acomputer, an appliance, a workstation, a terminal, a server, a personalcomputer (PC), a laptop, an ultra-laptop, a handheld computer, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a set top box (STB), a telephone, amobile telephone, a cellular telephone, a handset, a wireless accesspoint, a base station (BS), a subscriber station (SS), a mobilesubscriber center (MSC), a radio network controller (RNC), amicroprocessor, an integrated circuit such as an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), aprocessor such as general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP) and/or a network processor, an interface, an input/output (I/O)device (e.g., keyboard, mouse, display, printer), a router, a hub, agateway, a bridge, a switch, a circuit, a logic gate, a register, asemiconductor device, a chip, a transistor, or any other device,machine, tool, equipment, component, or combination thereof. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, a node may comprise, or be implemented as,software, a software module, an application, a program, a subroutine, aninstruction set, computing code, words, values, symbols or combinationthereof. A node may be implemented according to a predefined computerlanguage, manner or syntax, for instructing a processor to perform acertain function. Examples of a computer language may include C, C++,Java, BASIC, Perl, Matlab, Pascal, Visual BASIC, assembly language,machine code, micro-code for a network processor, and so forth. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

The nodes of the communications system 100 may be arranged tocommunicate one or more types of information, such as media informationand control information. Media information generally may refer to anydata representing content meant for a user, such as image information,video information, graphical information, audio information, voiceinformation, textual information, numerical information, alphanumericsymbols, character symbols, and so forth. Control information generallymay refer to any data representing commands, instructions or controlwords meant for an automated system. For example, control informationmay be used to route media information through a system, or instruct anode to process the media information in a certain manner. The media andcontrol information may be communicated from and to a number ofdifferent devices or networks.

In various implementations, the nodes of the communications system 100may be arranged to segment a set of media information and controlinformation into a series of packets. A packet generally may comprise adiscrete data set having fixed or varying lengths, and may berepresented in terms of bits or bytes. It can be appreciated that thedescribed embodiments are applicable to any type of communicationcontent or format, such as packets, cells, frames, fragments, units, andso forth.

The communications system 100 may communicate information in accordancewith one or more standards, such as standards promulgated by the IEEE,the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the InternationalTelecommunications Union (ITU), and so forth. In various embodiments,for example, the communications system 100 may communicate informationaccording to one or more IEEE 802 standards including IEEE 802.11standards (e.g., 802.11a, b, g/h, j, n, and variants) for WLANs and/or802.16 standards (e.g., 802.16-2004, 802.16.2-2004, 802.16e, 802.16f,and variants) for WMANs. The communications system 100 may communicateinformation according to one or more of the Digital Video BroadcastingTerrestrial (DVB-T) broadcasting standard and the High performance radioLocal Area Network (HiperLAN) standard. The communications system 100may further communicate information according to standards for landmobile radio as promulgated by the Association of Public SafetyCommunications Officials (APCO) or any other land mobile radiostandards. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the communications system 100 may employ one ormore protocols such as medium access control (MAC) protocol, PhysicalLayer Convergence Protocol (PLCP), Simple Network Management Protocol(SNMP), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) protocol, Frame Relay protocol,Systems Network Architecture (SNA) protocol, Transport Control Protocol(TCP), Internet Protocol (IP), TCP/IP, X.25, Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and so forth.

The communications system 100 may include one or more nodes (e.g., nodes110-130) arranged to communicate information over one or more wiredand/or wireless communications media. Examples of wired communicationsmedia may include a wire, cable, printed circuit board (PCB), backplane,switch fabric, semiconductor material, twisted-pair wire, co-axialcable, fiber optics, and so forth. An example of a wirelesscommunication media may include portions of a wireless spectrum, such asthe radio-frequency (RF) spectrum. In such implementations, the nodes ofthe system 100 may include components and interfaces suitable forcommunicating information signals over the designated wireless spectrum,such as one or more transmitters, receivers, transceivers, amplifiers,filters, control logic, antennas and so forth.

The communications media may be connected to a node using aninput/output (I/O) adapter. The I/O adapter may be arranged to operatewith any suitable technique for controlling information signals betweennodes using a desired set of communications protocols, services oroperating procedures. The I/O adapter may also include the appropriatephysical connectors to connect the I/O adapter with a correspondingcommunications medium. Examples of an I/O adapter may include a networkinterface, a network interface card (NIC), a line card, a disccontroller, video controller, audio controller, and so forth.

In various embodiments, the communications system 100 may comprise orform part of a network, such as a WiMAX network, a broadband wirelessaccess (BWA) network, a WLAN, a WMAN, a wireless wide area network(WWAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) network, a Wide-band CDMA (WCDMA) network, a TimeDivision Synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA) network, a Time Division MultipleAccess (TDMA) network, an Extended-TDMA (E-TDMA) network, a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, an Orthogonal FrequencyDivision Multiplexing (OFDM) network, an Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (OFDMA) network, a North American Digital Cellular(NADC) network, a Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) network, athird generation (3G) network, a fourth generation (4G) network, a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), the Internet, the World Wide Web, a cellular network, aradio network, a satellite network, and/or any other communicationsnetwork configured to carry data. The embodiments are not limited inthis context.

The communications system 100 may employ various modulation techniquesincluding, for example: OFDM modulation, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation(QAM), N-state QAM (N-QAM) such as 16-QAM (four bits per symbol), 32-QAM(five bits per symbol), 64-QAM (six bits per symbol), 128-QAM (sevenbits per symbol), and 256-QAM (eight bits per symbol), Differential QAM(DQAM), Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation, Quadrature PhaseShift Keying (QPSK) modulation, Offset QPSK (OQPSK) modulation,Differential QPSK (DQPSK), Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) modulation,Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) modulation, Gaussian MSK (GMSK) modulation,and so forth. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, the communications system 100 may be arranged toreceive a signal. More specifically, the communications system 100 maybe arranged to receive a desired signal while substantially blocking anunwanted signal. For example, within a range of signal frequencies, thecommunications system 100 may be exposed to any number of signalfrequencies and signal powers. The communications system 100 may selecta desired frequency or frequency range to properly receive a desiredsignal. To do so, the communications system 100 may have to be sensitiveto signal frequencies in that particular range. However, thecommunications system 100 may further be overloaded by unwanted signalsbased on their power and/or their frequency proximity to the frequencyof the desired signal. The communications system 100 of an embodimentmay employ a receiver including variable attenuation that may becontrolled by detecting the power of incident signal frequencies tosubstantially maintain sensitivity of the communications system 100 tothe desired signal while simultaneously protecting the communicationssystem 100 from overload caused by unwanted signals. In an embodiment,the communications system 100 may protect against overload while notsubstantially degrading its sensitivity to the desired signal relativeto a communications system that does not include a receiver withvariable attenuation.

In one embodiment, communications system 100 may include one or morewireless communication devices, such as nodes 110-130. Nodes 110-130 allmay be arranged to communicate information signals using one or morewireless transmitters/receivers (“transceivers”) or radios, which mayinvolve the use of radio frequency communication via 802.16 schemes(e.g., 802.16-2004, 802.16.2-2004, 802.16e, 802.16f, and variants) forWMANs, land mobile radio schemes, or cellular telephone and deviceschemes, for example. Nodes 110-130 may communicate using the radiosover wireless shared media 160 via multiple inks or channels establishedtherein. Although FIG. 1 is shown with a limited number of nodes in acertain topology, it may be appreciated that communications system 100may include additional or fewer nodes in any type of topology as desiredfor a given implementation. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

Further, nodes 110 and 120 may comprise fixed devices having wirelesscapabilities. A fixed device may comprise a generalized equipment setproviding connectivity, management, and control of another device, suchas mobile devices. Examples for nodes 110 and 120 may include a wirelessaccess point (AP), base station or node B, router, switch, hub, gateway,media gateway, and so forth. In an embodiment, nodes 110 and 120 mayalso provide access to a network 170 via wired communications media.Network 170 may comprise, for example, a packet network such as theInternet, a corporate or enterprise network, a voice network such as thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), among other WANs, for example.The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In one embodiment, system 100 may include node 130. Node 130 maycomprise, for example, a mobile device or a fixed device having wirelesscapabilities. A mobile device may comprise a generalized equipment setproviding connectivity to other wireless devices, such as other mobiledevices or fixed devices. Examples for node 130 may include a computer,server, workstation, notebook computer, handheld computer, telephone,cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), combinationcellular telephone and PDA, land mobile radio, and so forth.

Nodes 110-130 may have one or more wireless transceivers and wirelessantennas. In one embodiment, for example, nodes 110-130 may each havemultiple transceivers and multiple antennas to communicate informationsignals over wireless shared media 160. For example, a channel 162,link, or connection may be formed using one or more frequency bands ofwireless shared medium 160 for transmitting and receiving packets 164.The embodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 2 more specifically illustrates node 110 of the communicationssystem 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the node may comprise multiple elementssuch as component 140, module 150, processor 210, memory 260, switch220, transmitter 230, receiver 240, and antenna 250 to communicatepackets 164 over wireless shared media 160. A module may refer to anyphysical or logical element directed to a specific set of operationsthat may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination ofboth. Transmitter 230 and receiver 240 may also be collectively referredto as a transceiver. Antenna 250 may include an internal antenna, anomni-directional antenna, a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna, an endfed antenna or a circularly polarized antenna, a micro-strip antenna, adiversity antenna, a dual antenna, an antenna array, and so forth. Someelements may be implemented using, for example, one or more circuits,components, registers, processors, software subroutines, or anycombination thereof. Although FIG. 2 shows a limited number of elements,it can be appreciated that additional or fewer elements may be used innode 110 as desired for a given implementation. The embodiments are notlimited in this context.

As noted, in an embodiment, node 110 may include a processor 210.Processor 210 may be connected to switch 220 and/or the transceiver(i.e., transmitter 230 and receiver 240). Processor 210 may beimplemented using any processor or logic device, such as a complexinstruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instructionset computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW)microprocessor, a processor implementing a combination of instructionsets, or other processor device. In an embodiment, for example,processor 210 may be implemented as a general purpose processor.Processor 210 may also be implemented as a dedicated processor, such asa controller, microcontroller, embedded processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), a network processor, a media processor, an input/output(I/O) processor, a media access control (MAC) processor, a radiobaseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), and so forth. The embodiments are notlimited in this context.

In one embodiment, processor 210 may include, or have access to, memory260. Memory 260 may comprise any machine-readable media. Memory 260 maybe implemented using any machine-readable or computer-readable mediacapable of storing data, including both volatile and non-volatilememory. For example, memory 260 may include read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), Double-Data-Rate DRAM(DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), programmable ROM(PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, polymer memory such asferroelectric polymer memory, ovonic memory, phase change orferroelectric memory, silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS)memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitablefor storing information. It is worthy to note that some portion or allof memory 260 may be included on the same integrated circuit asprocessor 210, or alternatively some portion or all of memory 260 may bedisposed on an integrated circuit or other medium, for example a harddisk drive, that is external to the integrated circuit of processor 210.The embodiments are not limited in this context.

When implemented in a node of communications system 100, node 110 may bearranged to communicate information over wireless communications mediabetween the various nodes, such as nodes 120 and 130. The informationmay be communicated using in the form of packets 164 over wirelessshared media 160, with each packet 164 comprising media informationand/or control information. The media and/or control information may berepresented using, for example, multiple Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) symbols. A packet 164 in this context may refer toany discrete set of information, including a unit, frame, cell, segment,fragment, and so forth. The packet may be of any size suitable for agiven implementation. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 3 through FIG. 5 more specifically describe, for example, thetransmitter 230 of the communications system 100 and/or node 110 andmethod of operation thereof. In particular, FIG. 3 through FIG. 5describe the transmitter 230 of an embodiment as part of a land mobileradio system. As introduced, land mobile radio refers to a radiooperating according to APCO, Telecommunications Industry Association(TIA), or other similar land mobile radio standard. The APCO standards,for example, were established to address the need for common digitalpublic safety radio communications standards for First Responders andHomeland Security/Emergency Response professionals (e.g., police,paramedic, fire, military, or any other state or federal emergencyresponse organizations). In an embodiment, land mobile radio isallocated numerous frequency ranges commonly within the 100-900 MHzrange, though other frequency ranges may also be allocated.

For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a land mobile radio system 300 of anembodiment including antenna 310 that may be coupled to transmitter 230.As illustrated, the transmitter 230, through antenna 310, would transmita broadcast signal 320 to any number of devices receptive to thebroadcast signal. For example, the transmitter 230, through antenna 310,may transmit a broadcast signal 320 to any number of land mobile radios330-360.

Each of the land mobile radios 330-360 may contain software and otherconfiguration data. In an embodiment, the software and configurationdata may collectively require hundreds of kilobytes of memory or more.For example, software and configuration data may include code or valuesfor radio software, radio parameters, radio calibration, encryption, orany other soft information that may be used by the land mobile radios330-360

Currently, updating or otherwise altering the software and configurationdata may require that the land mobile radios 330-360 be individuallyconnected to equipment provided by installation and maintenanceproviders via an assortment of cables, adapters, or the like specific tothe land mobile radio 330-360 manufacturer, model, and so on. Further,the land mobile radios 330-360 may be individually programmed with datacall information over the land mobile radio system 300. However, foreach approach, the time, human, and equipment resources required tomaintain such a land mobile radio system 300 of an embodiment maysubstantially limit the ease with which the land mobile radios 330-360of land mobile radio system 300 may be programmed and configured.

The method of an embodiment may provide a manner by which land mobileradios 330-360 may be programmed and configured with broadcast signal320. FIG. 4, for example, illustrates a portion of broadcast signal 320.More specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates a stream 400 of control channelmessages 410-430 contained in the broadcast signal 320. In anembodiment, control channel message A 410 is followed by control channelmessage B 420 and so on to control channel message N 430. Thereafter,the control channel messages 410-430 are repeated. The land mobileradios 330-360, as part of the land mobile radio system 300, mayconsistently listen to the stream 400 and receive the control channelmessages 410-430 contained therein. In an embodiment, at least a controlchannel message (as illustrated, control channel message B 420) mayinclude information representing the software and configuration dataintroduced above. More specifically, in an embodiment individual controlchannel messages may include at least a portion, or chunk, of the totalinformation required for the software and configuration data. Theportions or chunks of the software and configuration data may then beassembled or combined by the land mobile radios 330-360 to recover thesoftware and configuration data. The land mobile radios 330-360 maythereafter load, install, or otherwise implement the received softwareand configuration data.

In various embodiments, the land mobile radios 330-360 may be arrangedto perform programming and configuration operations while operating inan idle mode, active mode or both. An idle mode may refer to anoperating mode where a land mobile radio is powered on but a user is notutilizing the powered land mobile radio for voice (e.g., telephone call)or data communications (e.g., web browsing). An active mode may refer toan operating mode where a land mobile radio is powered on but a user isutilizing the powered land mobile radio for voice and/or datacommunications. For efficiency purposes, it may be desirable to performthe programming and configuration operations while in an idle mode toensure voice and/or data communications performance is not impacted.When implemented as a digital land mobile radio, however, theprogramming and configuration operations may also be performed duringvoice and/or data communications sessions. The latter case may beappropriate or desirable, for example, for higher bandwidth channels,lower signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) requirements, time constraints, lowertraffic load conditions, lower priority communication traffic, and soforth. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

More specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of controlchannel message B 420 that includes, among other portions, the chunk ofsoftware and configuration data 438 introduced above. As noted, in anembodiment the software code and configuration data load for aparticular land mobile radio may be divided into chunks, each of whichmay include information as to where the chunk resides as part of thewhole software and configuration data and a mechanism for verifying thatthe whole data transmission has been received.

For example, the control channel message B 420 may include a controlchannel header 431 that may be necessary overhead to fit the appendeddata into the regular control channel signaling of the land mobile radiosystem 300. The type header 432 may include a numeric code indicatingthe type of radio to which the chunk data 438 may apply. For example,there may be a variety of types of land mobile radios for a given landmobile radio 300 system. While control message B 420 may be for aparticular type of radio, software and configuration data may be carriedby, for example, control channel message A 410 for another type ofradio. Accordingly, based on the type header 432, the land mobile radios330-360 would be able to determine whether or not the correspondingchunk data 438 was meant for them. Similarly, the indications of majorversion 433 and minor version 434 may further distinguish the chunk data438 and the software and configuration data of which it is part so thatland mobile radios 330-360 of the same type would again know if thechunk data 438 were meant for them. Major version 433 and minor version434 may be any defined values useful in differentiating between landmobile radios and/or software loads (e.g., software versions). Forexample, major software revisions may be indicated via the appropriatevalues communicated by major version field 433, while minor softwarerevisions may be indicated using the appropriate values communicated byminor version field 434. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

The overall transmission checksum 435 represents the checksum for theentire software and configuration data transmission that, in anembodiment, may be comprised of multiple chunks (e.g., chunk data 438).As will be explained more fully below, a particular land mobile radiomay receive multiple chunks over the course of hours or days as the landmobile radio system 300 cycles through multiple chunks for the same landmobile radio type as well as multiple chunks for other radio types. Whenthe checksum of the received chunk data (e.g., chunk data 438 andrelated chunk data not illustrated) matches the overall transmissionchecksum 435, the individual land mobile radio will have an indicationthat it has received all of the chunks that represent the software andconfiguration data.

The chunk offset 436 and chunk length 437 portions of the controlchannel message B 420 indicate the location of the chunk data 438 in thewhole of the software and configuration data. As noted, the software andconfiguration data may be comprised of multiple chunks that aretransmitted separately as part of control channel messages. Further,depending on when a land mobile radio may begin listening to the stream400 of control channel messages or other factors, it may receive chunkdata out of order with respect to their location in the software andconfiguration data. Accordingly, the chunk offset 436 and the chunklength 437 may both serve to locate the chunk data 438 within themessage and/or within the software and configuration data. Moreparticularly, the chunk offset 436 and the chunk length 437 may be usedto append, insert, replace, modify or otherwise position the chunk data438 within the appropriate position or structure of the previouslyreceived software and configure data stored by the land mobile radio.For example, the chunk offset 436 and/or chunk length 437 may be used tostore the chunk data at a location specified by the chunk offset 436,the chunk offset 436 to specify the location of the chunk data 438within the software and configuration data. The embodiments are notlimited in this context.

The chunk data 438 represents at least a portion of the software andconfiguration data that may be combined with other chunk data similarlyorganized and transmitted to recover the entire software andconfiguration data. As introduced, the software and configuration datamay include code or values for radio software, radio parameters, radiocalibration, encryption, or any other soft information that may be usedby the land mobile radios 330-360. In an embodiment, the chunk data isfollowed by chunk checksum 439. In an embodiment, the chunk checksum isomitted, as the control channel protocol also provides a checksum todetermine the accuracy of the control channel message.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow of an embodiment. In operation,transmitted control channel messages (e.g., control messages 410-430)contain chunk data representing at least a portion of the software andconfiguration data for a land mobile radio. At 510, a land mobile radiodecodes a received control channel message containing chunk data 510. At520, the land mobile radio determines whether or not it is interested inthe chunk data based on the radio type indicated by the control channelmessage in, for example, a type header. If it is interested in the radiotype, the land mobile radio next determines at 530 if the version of thesoftware and configuration data is different from the one it may have.This may be accomplished, for example, by comparing versions numbersdefined within the various fields of the received control channelmessage, such as the type header, major version 433, minor version 434,and so forth. For example, the software and configuration data may be ofa newer or more current version than what the land mobile radio mayhave. Conversely, the land mobile radio may have the more currentversion. For either case, the land mobile radio may be upgraded,downgraded, or otherwise changed with the software and configuration ofan embodiment so that each radio of a particular type will have auniform configuration. Accordingly, a land mobile radio may changecommunications systems and upgrade, downgrade, or change in response tointeract uniformly with each communications system.

If the chunk data represents at least a portion of a different softwareand configuration data, the land mobile radio may then determine theaccuracy of the chunk data transmission with the chunk checksum at 540(if included in the message). If the chunk checksum is not included inthe message, then the land mobile radio may refer to a set of definedoperational rules or parameters, such as requesting a resend of themessage, omitting error checking and using the associated chunk data,discarding the associated chunk data, waiting for a resend of the chunkdata with the chunk checksum, and so forth, as desired for a givenimplementation. If the chunk data is intact, the land mobile radio maydownload the chunk data to a data location based on the chunk offset at550. Each time a chunk is stored, the land mobile radio may calculatethe overall checksum of the stored chunks at 560. At 570, the landmobile radio may then compare the calculated checksum to the receivedoverall transmission checksum included in the control channel message.If the calculated overall checksum and the received overall transmissionchecksum match, the land mobile radio will have an indication that ithas received all of the chunks that collectively comprise the softwareand configuration data and it may use the stored chunk data at 590 toload, install, or otherwise implement the software and configurationdata. If the checksums do not match, at 580 the land mobile radio maywait for the next chunk to arrive via another control channel message.This may continue until the entire software and configuration data isreceived, or update operations are canceled due to some terminationevent. Examples of termination event may be moving beyond transmissionrange, powering down the land mobile radio, exceeding memory resources,exceeding power constraints for the land mobile radio, user directedtermination, communication channel characteristics (e.g., lowsignal-to-noise-ratio or high interference levels), and so forth.Partial software and configuration downloads may be stored by a landmobile radio for completion at a later time, or deleted from the systemto conserve resources, as desired for a given implementation. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

Numerous specific details have been set forth herein to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-knownoperations, components and circuits have not been described in detail soas not to obscure the embodiments. It can be appreciated that thespecific structural and functional details disclosed herein may berepresentative and do not necessarily limit the scope of theembodiments.

It is also worthy to note that any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment.

Some embodiments may be implemented using an architecture that may varyin accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computationalrate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input datarates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and otherperformance constraints. For example, an embodiment may be implementedusing software executed by a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. In another example, an embodiment may be implemented asdedicated hardware, such as a circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or digitalsignal processor (DSP), and so forth. In yet another example, anembodiment may be implemented by any combination of programmedgeneral-purpose computer components and custom hardware components. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. It should be understood thatthese terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example,some embodiments may be described using the term “connected” to indicatethat two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contactwith each other. In another example, some embodiments may be describedusing the term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are indirect physical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, alsomay mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

Some embodiments may be implemented, for example, using amachine-readable medium or article which may store an instruction or aset of instructions that, if executed by a machine, may cause themachine to perform a method and/or operations in accordance with theembodiments. Such a machine may include, for example, any suitableprocessing platform, computing platform, computing device, processingdevice, computing system, processing system, computer, processor, or thelike, and may be implemented using any suitable combination of hardwareand/or software. The machine-readable medium or article may include, forexample, any suitable type of memory unit, such as the examples givenwith reference to FIG. 2. For example, the memory unit may include anymemory device, memory article, memory medium, storage device, storagearticle, storage medium and/or storage unit, memory, removable ornon-removable media, erasable or non-erasable media, writeable orre-writeable media, digital or analog media, hard disk, floppy disk,Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disk Recordable (CD-R),Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW), optical disk, magnetic media, varioustypes of Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a tape, a cassette, or the like.The instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as sourcecode, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code,dynamic code, and the like. The instructions may be implemented usingany suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiledand/or interpreted programming language, such as C, C++, Java, BASIC,Perl, Matlab, Pascal, Visual BASIC, assembly language, machine code, andso forth. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

While certain features of the embodiments have been illustrated asdescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes andequivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is thereforeto be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of theembodiments.

1. A communications system comprising: a communications medium; and oneor more radios coupled to the communications medium, the radios to:receive from a transmitter over a broadcast channel a control channelmessage including chunk data, the chunk data including at least aportion of software and configuration data for the radios; and determineby each radio whether the chunk data corresponds to its radio type. 2.The communications system of claim 1, each radio to further: determinewhether the chunk data corresponds to a different version of softwareand configuration data from the software and configuration dataimplemented by the radio.
 3. The communications system of claim 2, eachradio to further: store the chunk data at a location specified by achunk offset, the chunk offset to specify the location of the chunk datawithin the software and configuration data.
 4. The communications systemof claim 3, each radio to further: receive another control channelmessage including another chunk data, the other chunk data includinganother portion of the software and configuration data for the radio;and store the other chunk data location specified by another chunkoffset, the other chunk offset to specify the location of the chunk datawithin the software or configuration data.
 5. The communications systemof claim 4, each radio to further: calculate the checksum of thecombination of data chunks; and compare the checksum of the combinationof data chunks to an overall transmission checksum to determine if thesoftware or configuration data has been completely received.
 6. Thecommunications system of claim 4, each radio to further: implement thesoftware or configuration data so that substantially all of the radiosof that type are configured uniformly.
 7. A method comprising:receiving, by a radio having a radio type, a control channel messageincluding chunk data, the chunk data including at least a portion ofsoftware or configuration data for the radio; and determining, by theradio, whether the chunk data corresponds to the radio type.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 further comprising: determining, by the radio, whetherthe chunk data corresponds to a different version of software andconfiguration data from the software and configuration data implementedby the radio.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising: storing thechunk data at a location specified by a chunk offset, the chunk offsetto specify the location of the chunk data within the software andconfiguration data.
 10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:receiving, by the radio, another control channel message includinganother chunk data, the other chunk data including another portion ofthe software and configuration data for the radio; and storing the otherchunk data location specified by another chunk offset, the other chunkoffset to specify the location of the chunk data within the software andconfiguration data.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:calculating, by the radio, the checksum of the combination of datachunks; and comparing, by the radio, the checksum of the combination ofdata chunks to an overall transmission checksum to determine if thesoftware and configuration data has been completely received.
 12. Themethod of claim 11 further comprising: Implementing, by the radio, thesoftware or configuration data so that substantially all of the radiosof that type are configured uniformly.
 13. An article comprising amachine-readable storage medium containing instructions that if executedenable a communications system to: receive, by a radio coupled to thecommunications system, the radio having a radio type, a control channelmessage including chunk data, the chunk data including at least aportion of software and configuration data for the radio; and determine,by the radio, whether the chunk data corresponds to the radio type. 14.The article of claim 13, further comprising instructions that ifexecuted enable the communications system to: determine, by the radio,whether the chunk data corresponds to a different version of softwareand configuration data from the software and configuration dataimplemented by the radio.
 15. The article of claim 14 further comprisinginstructions that if executed enable the communications system to:calculate, by the radio, the checksum of the chunk data; and compare, bythe radio, the calculated checksum to the checksum contained in thechunk data to determine if the radio received the chunk data withouterror.
 16. The article of claim 15 further comprising instructions thatif executed enable the communications system to: store, by the radio,the chunk data at a location specified by a chunk offset, the chunkoffset to specify the location of the chunk data within the software andconfiguration data.
 17. The article of claim 16 further comprisinginstructions that if executed enable the communications system to:receive, by the radio, another control channel message including anotherchunk data, the other chunk data including another portion of thesoftware and configuration data for the radio; and store, by the radio,the other chunk data location specified by another chunk offset, theother chunk offset to specify the location of the chunk data within thesoftware and configuration data.
 18. The article of claim 17 furthercomprising instructions that if executed enable the communicationssystem to: calculate, by the radio, the checksum of the combination ofdata chunks; and compare, by the radio, the checksum of the combinationof data chunks to an overall transmission checksum to determine if thesoftware and configuration data has been completely received.
 19. Acommunications system comprising: an antenna; and a transmitter coupledto the antenna, the transmitter to broadcast a control channel messageincluding chunk data, the chunk data including at least a portion ofsoftware or configuration data.
 20. The communications system of claim19, the broadcast control channel message further comprising: a typeheader to indicate a type of radio to receive the broadcast controlchannel message.
 21. The communications system of claim 19, thebroadcast channel message further comprising: a chunk offset todetermine the location of the chunk data in the software orconfiguration data.